Conduit for electric railways



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

H. D. OLER. 001mm FOR BLEGTRIG RAILWAYS.

Patented Dec. 26, 1893.

I ITNESSES:

. lNVENTOH 7% (9. flfi ATTORNEYS.

HENRY D.

PATENT F ICE.

OLER, 0 F PATERSON, NEWJERSEY.

CONDUIT FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 511,452, dated December26, 1893.

Application tiled August 23, 1892. Serial No. 443,901. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, HENRY D. OLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paterson, 1n the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inUonduits'for'Electric Railways, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in conduits for the conductors ofelectric rail-I ways; and the object of my invention is to provide aconduit for electric railways which is so constructed that the circuitis 'at all times broken except when the car passes, and then the currentcan only pass from the conductor to the car.

The invention consists in the combination with a conduit of a conductorheld in a 1ongitudinal groove in blocks in the conduit, sliding blocksin said groove and swinging members in the conduit and actuated from awheel on the car for successively bringing the several blocks in contactwith the conductor.

The invention also consists in'the construc-.

'tion and combination of parts and details which will be fully describedhereinafter and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transversesectional view of my im-' proved conduit for electric railways. Fig. 2is a perspective view of the guide for the sliding blocks. Fig. 3 is aperspective View of the guide and block. Fig. 4 is a verticallongitudinal sectional view, on the line 4 4, Fig. 1, on a smallerscale, and Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view of amodification of the conduit. 7

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts. I

The conduit A, which is constructed of metal or wood, as may bedesired,is provided with a longitudinal slot B in its top. To the underside ofthe top plate a block of'wood O is fastened, and to the underside of the same another block of wood D is held in a suitable manner.Between said blocks the conductor D is arranged and held, the left handside of said conductor being naked and the remaining half being providedwith an insulating covering E composed of any suitable insulatingmaterial, preferably of ground glass mixed with rubber or likecomposition. The blocks 0 and D extend the entire length of theconductor, and from the exposed side of the condnit an opening or grooveD extends throughout the entire length of the conduit through theblocks, to the right hand side of the same. In said opening a series ofguide boxes F are held,'which are'provided withfan insulating coveringand are provided with flanges at the inner and outer ends, and in saidguide-boxes sliding blocks G are arranged, which have their inner endsrecessed, as at G, to fit against the conductor D. Plates H are hingedto the under side of the top of the conduit and insulated from the sameand are connected by pins H with the outer ends of the sliding blocksG,said plates being pressed/outward at their lower ends by springs Hfastened to the upper blocks 0 and bearing against said plates. As thesprings H press the lower ends of the plates outward they also draw theblocks G outward untiltheir flanges at the inner ends of said blocksstrike against the inner flanges of the guide boxes F. The bottom J ofthe conduit is provided with aseries I of slots K, through which theaccumulated water can pass. into a trough L arranged below the sleepersM, the entire length of the conduit.

From the bottom of the car two bars N probearing block 0, which ispressed downward by a spring 0, and in said blocks the shaft Pismounted, which carries on its endawheel Q having a beveled edge, whichwheel passes through the slot'B of the conduit and bears against theplates H. As the wheel Q rolls along it presses the successive platesHinward, as indicated by the arrow as in Fig. 1. Thereby the slidingblocks G are successively pressed inward and their inner ends brought incon- "tact with the exposed or naked side of the conductor D. Thecurrent now passes from the conductor through the blocks G, the plates Hand the wheel Q to the motor in the car. As soon as the wheelQpassesoverone of the plates H said plate and the corresponding block G aredrawn outward by the action of the springs H, and thus the circuit isbroken. The circuit is closed, that is, the blocks G are in contact withthe conductor D, only then when the wheel Q on the car bears on any oneplate H.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the

-ject downward, and each contains a sliding opening for the boxes F andsliding blocksG is arranged vertically, and'the sliding blocks arepivoted to levers S, the opposite ends of which are connected with barsT guided by sleeves T projecting from the sides of the conduit and eachbar T is provided on its upper end with a rail U, on which the wheel Q"runs. As the wheel Q runs upon one of the rails U it depresses the same,whereby the inner end of the leverS is raised and the 'correspondingblock G bears against the conductor. As soon as the wheel Q, runs offthe rail section U the correspondingblockGdescends and the circuitbetween the sameand the conductor is broken.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent-- 1. The combination, with a conduit, of wooden blocksfastened in the samethe entire length of the conduit, in which blocks agroove is formed extending the length of the conduit, a conductor heldin said groove, a part of which conductor is insulated and the remainingpart exposed, sliding blocks in the groove, plates hinged in the conduitand connected with the sliding blocks, a wheel passing through the slotof the conduitand adapted toact'on the hinged lpla'te,ashaft for saidwheel and spring bearing block'smounted on parts of the car, in whichbearing blocks the said shaft is mounted, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a conduit, of wooden blocks fastened in thesame and extending the length of the conduit, in which blocks a grooveis formed that extends the II. I). OLER.

Witnesses:

OSCAR F. GUNZ, MARION HALL.

